You Were Always There, Weren't You?
by RoseScor90
Summary: Miranda Carlson knows how she feels about Fred Weasley, but he was also her best friend and she didn't want to spoil that. Did she ever work up the guts to tell him? Next gen Fred Weasley/OC! R&R!


Disclaimer: Not JK…

A/n: Written for the next gen competition. The character was Fred Weasley II and the song that inspired this fic was _No one Knows - Queens of the Stone Age._

Hope you enjoy!

"Randy!" Miranda looked up from her book as she heard the familiar voice call out. It was followed by the appearance of Fred Weasley, her best friend of all times. He plopped down on the couch, almost unseating her. He grinned innocently up at her, but Miranda wasn't fooled.

"What is it this time?" Fred sighed dejectedly, resting his hands on top of the couch, and incidentally around her shoulders, resting his head on it. It was obvious that there was something wrong and Miranda couldn't help but feel that he didn't deserve this.

"We just had another disagreement. She thought I was insulting her looks; I was just…"

"Complementing her in a round about way, I know. Hope you resolve it soon." She patted his shoulder consolingly, but he just shrugged.

"As much as I appreciate your words, Randy, I don't think they'll get any better. I think we're going downhill. I have no idea why, though. What am I doing wrong, why do whatever I say end with us having a fight?" His voice increased in frustration with each word, and Miranda placed a hand on his arm to calm him down, since her presence always seemed to help him.

"You shouldn't think so pessimistically, Fred. It's not always your fault, and every relationship has rocky times. You just have to remember why you're with her in the first place,"

"Because she looks good and I can't help feeling like a shallow git whenever I think that." He chuckled wryly, and not for the first time, Miranda was reminded of why she had to keep her unrequited crush at bay. It would be almost easy to make Fred break up with his girlfriend; she knew Fred trusted her more than he trusted his family, but that would make her feel like a real bitch. It would be a selfish thing to do, and even if she did, what was going to come out of it? He'd just find another girl and she'd remain the best friend. It was a vicious cycle, one Miranda hated, but thrived on anyway. As long as she got to stay beside him, though she'd never be anything more than a friend, she'd take it gladly.

"I'm sure there are other reasons, Fred. You don't have to tell me everything. Don't fuss too much about it and things will get better by themselves. Alright?" She smiled hesitantly at him, and he nodded once before the grin, a genuine one this time, graced his face.

"I don't know what I'd do without you, Randy." He stroked her hair, a habit he had picked up when they had been seven. Placing her head on his shoulder, Miranda closed her eyes and imagined, for a minute, that he did like her back.

"You'd probably have gone through a hundred different girls by now and would be confused as to what you were doing wrong. Not to mention you and James would be stumped for prank ideas." She could feel him laugh, a sound that gave her a sense of comfort like no other. Evrytime she heard him laugh, she was reassured; the world was safe and she'd survive.

"I should be getting to bed. Make sure you apologise to your girlfriend or she'd get even madder. Good Night." She advised solemnly before kissing his cheek and walking up the stairs to her dorms, not hearing his muttered, "But it's not _her_ I like anymore."

XXXXXXXX

The next day, Miranda entered the Great Hall to a familiar yet troubling scene; Fred and his girlfriend were having a fight. It wasn't very difficult to discern what they were saying; neither of them was speaking in a low voice. Noticing her name mentioned, Miranda walked into the hall, but no-one noticed her. It was Fred who first turned to her, and even then she was only a few feet away from them. She could see that Fred was greatly agitated, his hair was messy as if he had been running his hands through it repeatedly; he had his hands in his pockets which meant he was feeling unsure and his eyes were looking up at the ceiling, as if he did not want to even face her.

"Fred?" His head snapped to her face, and seeing the question in them, he answered.

"I told you, didn't I? It's not working anymore, Randy. I'm breaking up with her." The whole Hall gasped, but his girlfriend just shrugged. Leveling Miranda with a final glare, she walked away but not before adding a "You were never worth it, Fred." For good measure.

Silence reigned in the Hall but Fred was unaware of it as he coolly sat himself on the table and began eating. Miranda followed, taking her usual place beside him and opposite James, who whistled.

"That was some show, Freddy but it was a long time coming, wasn't it?" Fred nodded, a relieved expression crossing his face.

"Now I know never to listen to Randy here." He replied sneakily, laughing at her look of outrage.

"I'm never helping you guys out with girls ever again." She swore, but was smiling, so they knew she wasn't serious.

"Aw, Randy! You know we'd go to dust without your superior girl-snatching ideas!"

"You need to stop talking about dating as if it's fishing, James. Or you'll land yourself in great trouble one day." Miranda replied in a prophetic tone, but James just shook his head.

The rest of the meal passed peacefully, with Miranda gazing at Fred from time to time to make sure he was fine. He really seemed to be happy about the break up, so she did not bring the topic up again.

Months passed like that, with Fred acting like the perfect best friend and Miranda holding on to her self-control for dear life lest she blurt out her crush. Sometimes, Miranda thought she saw a thoughtful expression on Fred's face when he looked at her, but it would disappear just as soon leaving her feeling foolish for daydreaming.

Soon, the NEWTs were upon them and no-one had time for boyfriends or dates; it was all books, notes, revisions, study sessions and tests. The weeks passed in an unrecognizable blur, but Miranda was glad to have them behind her back. She had done reasonably well, and knew her grades would be enough to get her accepted into healer training.

For the next few days, the school was in a new kind of frenzy. The Graduation Ball was to be held in a week and people were desperately trying to find a decent date. The commonroom was abuzz with gossip and contemplation, and everyone was looking at Fred expectantly. For all the pressure put on him, Fred remained unaffected, joking as usual with his friends, playing minor harmless pranks on the students and getting into pretend duels in the middle of the corridors. It was all done for fun and the professors turned a blind eye to it.

Excitement was reaching a new high when the day of the Ball dawned. Seventh years all over the school were as excited as they were nervous, running around here and there. However, the corridors were deserted at noon, all students retreating to the dorms to get ready.

Miranda roamed the halls in a carefree manner, loving the solitude and serenity that was elusive at other times. The rest of her friends were getting ready for the Ball, but she didn't bother. She didn't want to go with some random guy whose name she might not even remember the next day, only to compare his looks, his character and his behavior to that of Fred's and declare him unworthy. Whoever it was, they didn't deserve it.

When Miranda finally reached the commonroom, the couples were leaving. She had a little trouble getting inside, what with the dresses and tuxes bulldozing over her. When she finally went inside, Alice was coming down from the dorms. She closed the door behind her, so she must have been the last. A relieved sigh escaped Miranda; atleast she wouldn't have to endure her dorm mates' surprise at her actions.

Alice merely nodded understandingly before she walked out of the commonroom. Miranda sat on the couch by the fireplace, readying herself to enjoy the rare night alone. Fred always used to be by her when she stayed up late, and she missed him now. Hearing footsteps from above her, Miranda turned to look at the late comer. Fred was walking down the stairs, his eyes fixed upon her in shock.

"Randy?" She stood up to look at him better; her neck was starting to hurt from having to turn so much.

"Hey Fred. Aren't you supposed to be at the Ball, causing havoc?" He chuckled lightly, before asking.

"Why aren't you going?"

"No date. And I didn't feel like socializing. You're running late, though. You finally got someone to go with you?" She spoke randomly, trying to quell her beating heart. Fred wasn't what anyone would call handsome, but his mischievous grin and perpetually smiling face drew people to him. But today, he really did look too much like he had in her dreams; perfect.

"Nope, I'm going all alone." He tried to pout, but it ended up being a lopsided grin. Miranda laughed, before she egged him on.

"You sure you don't want to come?" He asked one last time before the portrait hole opened.

"Yeah, yeah I am. Go have fun." She literally pushed him out the door, but his last words echoed in her ears anyway.

"I really wish you'd come, Randy,"

XXXXXXXX

An hour had passed since and Miranda was pacing the length of the room impatiently, like she had been doing ever since Fred left. One part of her wanted to go to the Ball, if only to look at Fred from a distance and maybe enjoy a few dances with him as his friend; she deserved that much, didn't she? But another part of her was anxious; what if she looked hideous, what if she unwittingly blurted out her feelings? It would end in nothing but disaster. Abruptly stopping her pacing, Miranda ran up the stairs two at a time. Come what may, she'll enjoy tonight.

It had taken her less than fifteen minutes to get ready, which would be considered a record with the way her dorm looked; like a dragon had flown through it. The dress was a simple halter, pale green and ended at her knee. She didn't bother with make up; she'd only look like a buffoon with them. But the green flecks in her blue-green eyes popped out, giving her a vulnerable look that was completely unlike her. She had clasped a part of her hair in a butterfly shaped clip Alice had given her for Christmas, letting the rest of her raven locks fall down to her back in natural ringlets.

Taking a deep breath, she walked down the dorm stairs, out the commonroom. She thanked heaven that she hadn't thought of heels. She'd have tripped atleast a dozen times over the stairs. Reaching the Great Hall, she tried to make as discrete an entrance as possible, going straight to the table where Alice was seated. James took the seat opposite her before she was even half way to them, so she changed direction, looking for the others.

"Randy!" His exclamation brought her to the attention of the entire hall, and she stood in the midst of it as people looked at her, talking loudly about how different she looked. Miranda shuffled her feet nervously; she wasn't used to this kind of comments, and her cheeks burned red with embarrassment.

"I always knew red would suit you well," Fred commented as he walked to her, taking her hands in his. She looked at him, confused.

"I never knew you were color blind, Fred. The dress is green, if you hadn't noticed." She replied back, but that he had said she looked good, albeit indirectly, didn't go unnoticed.

"I meant the blush, silly, but you are right. I must have been blind." She didn't know what to make of that. Or maybe she knew, but didn't want to get her hopes up. He did not give her time to ponder, dragging her to the dance floor.

"You won't even ask me?" She complained, but he just shook his head, placing a hand on her waist to draw her closer.

"I'm not giving you the chance to say no." Miranda thought she saw a spark of something deep in his eyes, but she had gotten used to having these illusions, so she wrote them off as a trick of the light.

"Well that doesn't seem fair, does it?" They were twirling around now, so it was a few minutes before he answered.

"All's fair in love and war, Randy." He definitely couldn't be kidding, could he? Hope fluttered to life in her heart, but Miranda had no way of suppressing it this time. He was fuelling it too much with the way he looked unwaveringly at her, as if he had never looked at her before.

"So we're fighting now?" She looked away from his gaze; it was too intent. She was afraid she'd start believing his words meant what she thought they did.

"I think I've fought enough, Randy. I can't help it anymore," A sigh punctuated the silence and his uncharacteristically low, soft voice followed. "I like you Randy, rather too much. Have right from fourth year, but I never told you. You were always so distant, and you kept telling me to get a steady girlfriend so I tried. I really did, but you know, no-one ever really caught my attention, because it was always on you. I know our friendship is going to be busted by this, but how could you expect me to stop myself when you pull something like this over me, huh?" He held her chin with a hand, the other still residing at her waist. He was looking imploringly at her, so exposed and nervous. How did he even think she'd reject him?

"You could have just told me. It would have saved a whole lot of trouble for us. Did you really think I wanted you to date some random girl who didn't know anything about you? I just didn't want you to stay miserable with me. Just because you didn't like me that way, didn't mean you had to suffer, right?" Fred only shook his head in denial, a small smile tugging at his lips.

"But you insisted so much, it was almost as if you wanted me gone or something," It was stupid and sadistic that she found happiness in his despair, but Miranda couldn't help the lurch of joy his words gave her.

"I'm not very good at keeping my head around you, Fred. You might not notice, but I say exactly what I think when I'm around you; it's not something I can help. What if my unrequited crush slipped out?"

"It would have saved us a hell of a lot of the heartbreak and drama and we'd be having a great time dancing like everyone else." Only now did Miranda notice that they had long since stopped dancing.

"We were dancing." She pointed out, but he shook his head.

"But I want to dance with my girlfriend."

"Get one." She turned away, smiling. She knew pretty well that she was being childish, but it never felt better. She had only walked a few steps before a hand caught her wrist and Fred's grinning face appeared before her.

"Miranda Carlson, will you be my girlfriend? I happiness and sorrow; In health and sickness…"

"We're not exchanging wedding vows." She interrupted, a wide smile appearing on her face.

"No we're not, but I tend to be dramatic." He grinned unaffectedly at her.

"I noticed." With that, she kissed him, not bothering that they were in the middle of the dance floor, with more than half their classmates watching.

She'd tolerate the dramatics, this once.

A/n: Do review!


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